The Impact of 2024 Economic Hardship on Academic Engagement of Post Graduate Students in Public Universities in South East Nigeria

The study investigated the impact of 2024 economic hardship on academic engagements of post graduate students in public universities in South East Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of post graduate students were 122163. The sample of the study was 300 post graduate students selected through simple random sampling technique. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The questionnaire was validated by three experts, two in Sociology of Education; one in Measurement and Evaluation, all from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The reliability was calculated using Cronbach Alpha for each of the subsections; 0.83, 0.80 and 0.81 were the scores obtained for the subsections. Mean rating was used for data analysis. The findings of the study showed that the removal of fuel subsidy, high cost of living, inadequate funding of public universities, delayed payment of bursaries and scholarships, and high tuition fees have cumulatively contributed to the economic hardship faced by postgraduate students. The removal of fuel subsidy, which was announced in 2024, has had a devastating impact on postgraduate students. The consequences of economic hardship on the academic engagement of postgraduate students in South East Nigeria are far-reaching and devastating such as brain drain, decline in academic performance, research productivity, and overall engagement among postgraduate students. 2024 economic hardship has forced many postgraduate students to take on part-time jobs, leading to a decrease in the quality of research and academic output. This led to the conclusion that the 2024 economic hardship in Nigeria has had a profound negative impact on the academic engagement of postgraduate students in South East Nigeria. It was recommended among others that government should offer financial assistance, such as loans and grants, to support postgraduate students.